Sandwiched on the bill between fellow Leodians Galaxians and the most estimable Cowtown, Sky Larkin this evening bridged the gap between what were those summer festivals and what will now be this autumn’s gigs. A week after the release of their third long player Motto they are once more back on home ground, just around the corner in fact from the damp flat at 14 Harold Street where Katie Harkin had once written some of that record’s material.
Such familiar surroundings contributed towards a relaxed, friendly atmosphere in which the band positively thrived. They invited those university student freshmen and women present into their world; a most warm welcome further extended by the immediacy and accessibility of Motto’s music. At the centre of this universe was ‘Frozen Summer’, the jagged edges of Harkin’s splintered guitar softened by the gentle doo-wop of the song’s chorus. ‘Bravo Dodo’ soared from somewhere deep inside a union between Sonic Youth and The Slits, providing the missing link between expansion and reduction in the process. ‘Newsworthy’ was precisely that, surely announcing Sky Larkin’s arrival in the departure lounge for the big time; the album’s title track and this evening’s closing song then duly held the boarding pass aloft.
Welcome to the Brudenell. They are Sky Larkin. If you hadn’t heard of them before, you have now.
